February 9, 2011

One security officer of Mayawati dusted her shoes and it became national news. The photo was shown on front pages of many big papers today. What is so big about it, friends?

I am not saying, getting such actions from one's juniors, servants or subordinates is good, but it is happening all around and with such callousness that it does not evoke a strong response.

Look at the IAS bada babus of Indian government system. They have numerous 'orderlies', helpers, drivers and security men to help them when they are district / division heads. The poor chaps are made to wash clothes, do gardening on the huge lands attached to the bada saheb's kothi, ferry their kids to school, guard their parental property somewhere else, attend to their private parties, etc etc. This is besides the entire system [that includes police, education, revenue, horticulture, works, and what not] that is at their beck and call.

Look at the police bosses. Their 'orderlies' are made to slog even more and attend to their wives' parties, guard them and their children and so on. When they are posted outside the cadre, they manage to carry with them a number of helpers in the name of security, etc.

Forest and Railway big babus do the same thing in their own areas where nobody can question them.

The top award goes to the armed and paramilitary forces. There, it is virtual slavery indoctrinated into soldiers who should be guarding the frontiers [or machines, institutions, etc] rather than washing the petticoat of saheb's wife. The 'sepoy' is taught that he is on duty when he is serving the bosses, and he soon starts thinking that it is part of his national duty.

Outside the babu domain, Ministers, their numerous 'equivalents' and their family-members demand that their numerous personal chores are done by people who draw their salary either from the Consolidated Fund of the government or from some PSU's coffers.

As for the gestures and courtesies of opening car door, carrying bags, helping with a slipping slipper [remember Punia the UP Chief Secretary doing this for Kanshi Ram and ND Tiwari for Sanjay Gandhi?], carrying sahebs on one's shoulders [a DM was recently seen being ferried this way to inspect floods], and so on, these are perfectly OK in our feudal system of governance.

Now in such a system, if a security guard shows the courtesy to 'behenji' or tries to be a bit chivalrous, why should it raise so much dust? In any case, would a securityman dare not to show such courtesies to her?